A Slow Market
Photograph
1868 (photographed)
1868 (photographed)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
Robert Crawshay was the fourth ‘Iron King’ of the Cyfarthfa Iron Works at Merthyr Tydfil in South Wales. In 1867 he became a member of the (Royal) Photographic Society.
A Slow Market was probably taken during the spring of 1868. It is beautifully made and carefully seen: the tear in the tablecloth echoes the open mouth of the nearest salmon. The photograph combines the popular genre motif of fisherfolk with a tradition of still life. It also shows the liking of the time for dressing up. Beneath the shawls and skirts is Crawshay’s daughter, Rose Harriette. On 23 March 1868 she wrote in her diary: ‘Papa came in with the ugliest, dirtiest, nastiest old straw bonnet that ever existed and a cap (thank goodness that was clean) for me to be photographed in as a fish woman which lasted till lunch time’.
A Slow Market was probably taken during the spring of 1868. It is beautifully made and carefully seen: the tear in the tablecloth echoes the open mouth of the nearest salmon. The photograph combines the popular genre motif of fisherfolk with a tradition of still life. It also shows the liking of the time for dressing up. Beneath the shawls and skirts is Crawshay’s daughter, Rose Harriette. On 23 March 1868 she wrote in her diary: ‘Papa came in with the ugliest, dirtiest, nastiest old straw bonnet that ever existed and a cap (thank goodness that was clean) for me to be photographed in as a fish woman which lasted till lunch time’.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Title | A Slow Market (assigned by artist) |
| Materials and techniques | Albumen-silver print mounted on card |
| Brief description | 19thC; Crawshay Robert, 'A slow market', c1860-5 |
| Physical description | A young woman dressed as a fish-wife sitting beside a table filled with salmon |
| Dimensions |
|
| Production type | Unlimited edition |
| Gallery label |
|
| Production | Attribution note: No limit would have been set on the edition but it is likely to have been very small (less than six prints). Crawshay did exhibit and this may have been intended for the annual exhibition of the Photographic Society (later the Royal). Reason For Production: Exhibition Reason For Production: Exhibition |
| Subjects depicted | |
| Association | |
| Summary | Robert Crawshay was the fourth ‘Iron King’ of the Cyfarthfa Iron Works at Merthyr Tydfil in South Wales. In 1867 he became a member of the (Royal) Photographic Society. A Slow Market was probably taken during the spring of 1868. It is beautifully made and carefully seen: the tear in the tablecloth echoes the open mouth of the nearest salmon. The photograph combines the popular genre motif of fisherfolk with a tradition of still life. It also shows the liking of the time for dressing up. Beneath the shawls and skirts is Crawshay’s daughter, Rose Harriette. On 23 March 1868 she wrote in her diary: ‘Papa came in with the ugliest, dirtiest, nastiest old straw bonnet that ever existed and a cap (thank goodness that was clean) for me to be photographed in as a fish woman which lasted till lunch time’. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | PH.9-1984 |
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| Record created | February 7, 2004 |
| Record URL |
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